Exclusives and Multiplatform... are there ways for console makers to control this?

[infinity4]

with a lot of decent PS3 games losing exclusives (if not time exclusives) whilst there doesnt seem to be many decent 360 games moving from 360 to ps3 (oblivion and SC: DA are not 360 exclusives are they!!!), i have always wondered whether console makers influence them to stop exclusivity or not.

take capcom for example. Lost Planet and DeadRising are not yet announced for PS3. why is this??? is this part of contract, where microsoft pays cost of development for capcom's offering of making the game exclusive to 360???

and look at games like GTAIV and Resident Evil 5. Did microsoft pay part of dev costs to persuade capcom / rockstar to bring the games to 360 on same day as PS3???

 

[assen]

and look at games like GTAIV and Resident Evil 5. Did microsoft pay part of dev costs to persuade capcom / rockstar to bring the games to 360 on same day as PS3???

Either that, or Sony failed to pay them.

 

[infinity4]

Either that, or Sony failed to pay them.

are they in financial troubles??? i read the news that few months ago they had biggest loan in 10 years or something, they must have poured tons of ps2 profits into CBEA + blu-ray development

 

[Rainbow Man]

I would actually like and welcome a world with fewer exclusive titles in it. Not just for PS3 of course but all platforms.

Of course some games are inherently unsuitablr for porting suhc as Elebits for example. It's probably best those remain native (more neutral term than "exclusive").

Peace.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

This myth of console vendors and publishers paying for exclusives should be clarified a bit more... First, every single game's development is financed by the dev studio (unless they flop, of course . All the publisher does is pre-financing, but they'll take back their money from the sales revenue with a biiig bonus, sometimes completely ripping of the developer so they end up where they've started even though they've produced a massively successful title (or even loose their IP as well, and watch someone else produce 'Hitler on killing dinosaurs 2' .

So Sony and Ms can do stuff like finance the development, agree to a big budget, provide very good conditions on the break even point (ie. they've given you 5 million for the development, and don't expect to get it back with any interest - or even give all the rest of the revenue to you) , decrease the licence fee or eliminate it completely, and so on. But directly giving away money is out of the question as far as I know.

 

[assen]

are they in financial troubles??? i read the news that few months ago they had biggest loan in 10 years or something, they must have poured tons of ps2 profits into CBEA + blu-ray development

Here's the story I was thinking of:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162084.html?page=6

 

[Hardknock]

and look at games like GTAIV and Resident Evil 5. Did microsoft pay part of dev costs to persuade capcom / rockstar to bring the games to 360 on same day as PS3???

I'm sure expected install base had more to do with this than anything.

 

[pc999]

This myth of console vendors and publishers paying for exclusives should be clarified a bit more... First, every single game's development is financed by the dev studio (unless they flop, of course . All the publisher does is pre-financing, but they'll take back their money from the sales revenue with a biiig bonus, sometimes completely ripping of the developer so they end up where they've started even though they've produced a massively successful title (or even loose their IP as well, and watch someone else produce 'Hitler on killing dinosaurs 2' .

So Sony and Ms can do stuff like finance the development, agree to a big budget, provide very good conditions on the break even point (ie. they've given you 5 million for the development, and don't expect to get it back with any interest - or even give all the rest of the revenue to you) , decrease the licence fee or eliminate it completely, and so on. But directly giving away money is out of the question as far as I know.

Thanks for the insight.

 

[avaya]

are they in financial troubles??? i read the news that few months ago they had biggest loan in 10 years or something, they must have poured tons of ps2 profits into CBEA + blu-ray development

No, this is a myth that needs to be busted. Balance sheet has seen accounting changes, that is all. Sony Corporation has not made a loss since 1994.

Profitability in the main business has improved significantly, so much so that they are targeting a 5% margin for the end of the fiscal year. This is amazing considering what has happened to them in 2006. For reference, in consumer electronics, the margin leader has been Canon Inc (~15% average). Sony for the past couple of years has been skating around 0.5-2% margin, so this is quite a turn around. That is why the stock jumped so sharply when Stringer revealed the news last week.

Their debt rating is only so low because of...

• Uncertainty over future income streams - commoditisation of nearly every branch of CE is eroding margins, forcing the majors to redefine their business strategies, increase resource utilisation efficiency and making them push harder than ever to introduce as many high premium products as fast as possible (see HDTV 720p -> 1080p).
• Fundamental problem of increased investment (R&D) with reduced time periods in which premiums can be accrued. Solutions to this are alliances and joint-ventures. Though these only stem the tide, stabilisation will occur when China can no longer afford to make things for peanuts...a long time then.
• The overall trend in the market given the changes occurring in the industry is for a lower level of financial leverage. Sony still has some $12bn of long-term debt. Their total assets are still growing faster than total liabilities but the ratings companies are becoming ever more sensitive to debt levels. This is why many firms in CE and telecoms in particular are boasting about new debt reduction plans.

Now compared to say Microsoft, Sony is certainly not looking pretty but Microsoft is a freak company that you only see once every 30-40years - only a government can put them in trouble. Who knows who the next Microsoft will be?

Most people assumed Sony would be able to easily handle Microsoft in the marketplace due to the competitive advantage Sony had with their manufacturing advantage (price), brand image (premium) and past success (support). However these advantages seemingly cannot be used due to the way in which PS3 has been engineered and tactically positioned.

Blu-Ray and PLAYSTATION 3 are a huge gamble. It seems they would sacrifice SCEI's grip on the games market for Blu-Ray, which is in part what they are doing – but certain fantastical decisions by SCEI independently of HQ (you would assume) detract from this theory. The financial risk of Blu-Ray and PS3 could be estimated at ~$15bn just from the changes on the balance sheet in 2005. This would be a total stab in the dark since Sony does not have to fully disclose what exactly they shifted and I haven’t finished my financial analysis module for my Masters yet so I’m still a n00b at this game!

 

[Johnny Awesome]

VERY interesting post. Thanks.

 

[infinity4]

Blu-Ray and PLAYSTATION 3 are a huge gamble. It seems they would sacrifice SCEI's grip on the games market for Blu-Ray, which is in part what they are doing – but certain fantastical decisions by SCEI independently of HQ (you would assume) detract from this theory. The financial risk of Blu-Ray and PS3 could be estimated at ~$15bn just from the changes on the balance sheet in 2005. This would be a total stab in the dark since Sony does not have to fully disclose what exactly they shifted and I haven’t finished my financial analysis module for my Masters yet so I’m still a n00b at this game!

so it means either sony will be really successful or failing considering huge amount of investments into CBEA + Blu-ray. im not sure whether they spent a lot of money into RSX as i am only person who is not an expert here if you know what i mean

 

[baten]

"History is written by the winner of the war" - was Sun-Tze that wrote this?

It is my feeling from some time that the war Sony is waging is more against "windows" and "pc" than anything else.